Analog waveform information from binary sampled measurements
Circuits that count zeros or ones in a binary sampling of a signal can measure analog characteristics of the signal. By this technique, relatively simple circuits can perform parameter measurements that are difficult to achieve with BER-based binary sampling techniques. Low cost binary sampling circuits can also perform measurements that previously might have required more complex and expensive analog sampling. The new technique is applicable to full-featured test systems, low-cost test circuits, and on-chip test circuits.
Binary sampling commonly refers to periodically sampling a signal to reduce the signal to a time-indexed series of binary values (0 or 1). In contrast, analog sampling such as commonly used in oscilloscopes generally samples a signal less frequently, but each sample retains information about the analog level of the signal when sampled. The analog level for each sample can be recorded as a multi-bit digital value, in which case, analog sampling generates a series of multi-bit values that approximates the analog signal.
An advantage of binary sampling is that binary sampling can generally achieve a higher sampling rate than can be practically achieved with analog sampling. For example, a binary sampling instrument, such as a bit error rate tester (BERT), can sample every bit of a high data rate signal, while current analog samplers with analog bandwidths over a couple of GHz are generally limited to a few thousand samples per second. Analog samplers can thus capture only a small fraction of the bits of a high data rate signal.
Another benefit of binary sampling is that a binary sampling circuit for a given test signal data rate can often be manufactured at a lower cost than an analog sampling circuit suitable for measurement of the signal. The lower cost of binary sampling makes it desirable to try to replicate the capabilities of analog sampling systems using binary sampling systems.
SUMMARYIn accordance with an aspect of the invention, a binary sampling system can sample a signal to generate test data that is analyzed to extract information about the analog characteristics of the signal. For example, a bit error tester or alternatively a counter counting the number of samples having a particular value can measure the percentages or rates of zeros or ones measured in a signal for a range of sampling thresholds and a range of phase offsets. Derivatives of the measured rate then indicate the density of signal waveforms at the voltage and phase at which the derivative was taken, and plots of the derivative provide similar information to that provided in an oscilloscope trace.
One specific embodiment of the invention is a test system that includes an analog comparator, a binary sampler, and a counter. The analog comparator compares an input signal to an adjustable threshold level. The binary sampler, which uses an adjustable phase parameter that determines a phase of sampling, samples an output signal from the analog comparator. The counter can then count samples from the binary sampler that have a selected binary state. A processing system can then be used to analyze a set of counts/rates from the counter to determine an analog characteristic of the input signal. The analysis can include, for example, taking a derivative or identifying a threshold corresponding to a characteristic voltage of the signal.
Another specific embodiment of the invention is a method for analyzing a signal. The method includes: varying a threshold over a first range; varying a phase over a second range; and for each value of the threshold and the phase, determining a rate at which the signal has a voltage above the threshold when sampled at the phase. Analysis of the rates can then determine an analog characteristic of the signal.
Yet another specific embodiment of the invention is another method for analyzing a signal. The method includes sampling the signal with a binary sampler having an adjustable phase for sampling and an adjustable threshold. The adjustable threshold separates levels of the signal corresponding to different binary states of samples output from the binary sampler. From the sampling, the method determines rates of a selected one of the binary states in the samples output from the binary sampler. Each of the rates is preferably determined for a unique combination of values of the adjustable threshold and the adjustable phase. The rates can then be analyzed to determine an analog characteristic of the signal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Use of the same reference symbols in different figures indicates similar or identical items.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONIn accordance with an aspect of the invention, a binary sampling system can analyze analog characteristics of high-frequency or high-data rate signals. For the analysis, the binary sampling system determines the rate of samples having a voltage level above or alternatively below a threshold level (e.g., a rate of samples having value one or zero) for a specific phase of the signal). The rate measurement is then repeated for a range of threshold levels and phases to determine the rate as a function of the threshold (i.e., voltage) and the phase (i.e., time). A derivative of the rate function indicates the density of occurrences of the signal within the ranges of voltage and time and therefore when plotted simulates traces generated in an oscilloscope. The analog characteristics of the signal can thus be determined from the binary sampling.
In a related measurement process, binary sampling techniques based on bit error ratio (BER) measurements determine analog characteristics of a signal such as a data signal from a system under test (SUT).
During a measurement, the system under test produces a signal DATA representing a known series of binary values, and signal DATA is input to comparator 110. Comparator 110 compares the analog voltage of signal DATA to a threshold level VT, and generates an output signal that is at a high voltage or a low voltage depending on whether the analog voltage of signal DATA is higher or lower than the threshold level VT.
A binary sampler 120 samples the output signal from comparator 110 and produces a binary sampled signal having a data frequency that is preferably the same as the data frequency of signal DATA. Alternatively, the data frequency of signal DATA could be an integer multiple of the sampling frequency that binary sampler 120 uses. To control the timing of sampling in the embodiment of
Error compare circuit 140 compares the binary sampled signal from sampler 120 to a binary signal from pattern generator 150. The binary signal from pattern generator 150 represents a data series that is the same as or derived from the known binary series that signal DATA should represent. A difference between the binary sample from sampler 120 and the known signal from pattern generator 150 indicates a bit error in signal DATA for the parameters VT and Φ used. Error compare circuit 140 triggers error counter 160 to count the errors, and the clock signal (or the delayed clock signal) triggers bit counter 170 to count the total number of bits sampled. The ratio of the error count from counter 160 to the bit count from bit counter 170 indicates the bit error ratio (BER).
A processing system 180 analyzes the BERs that are measured for a range of threshold levels VT and clock phases Φ. Observing the variation in the BER as the threshold level VT and the sampling phase Φ vary indicates analog characteristics of signal data. For example, when sampling phase Φ corresponds to a time when signal DATA may transition between a low level (e.g., binary zero) and a high level (e.g., binary one), the BER changes dramatically as comparison threshold level VT crosses the characteristic voltage levels of signal DATA at the sampled phase. Analog voltage levels of signal DATA can thus be determined at a series of values of phase Φ to provide information similar to that provided in an oscilloscope trace.
The analysis techniques available in system 100 as described above use a signal DATA that represents a known binary series, which permits identification of errors and measurement of the BER. Accordingly, such analysis techniques may not be available during normal operation of the system under test when the values of signal DATA are not known.
In operation, system 200 can determine a count or rate of samples of a signal DT having a voltage below (or alternatively above) a selected threshold level VT at a selected phase Φ of signal DT. In particular, comparator 110 compares voltage of signal DT to the threshold level VT and drives an output signal high or low depending on whether signal DT has a voltage higher or lower than threshold level VT. Binary sampler 120 samples the output signal from comparator 110 at frequency that preferably corresponds to the data rate of signal DT and a phase that the parameter Φ of variable delay 130 selects. The output signal of sampler 120 enables or disables counter 240, so that counter 240 counts when the binary samples are zero or one (corresponding to signal DT being below or above threshold level VT).
System 200 can be implemented using well-known devices. For example, in an exemplary embodiment of the invention, comparator 110 is a differential amplifier, and binary sampler 120 is a high speed D flip-flop. If desired, a demultiplexer circuit (not shown) may be included following binary sampler 120 and effectively convert a high frequency bit stream from binary sampler 120 to a lower frequency parallel data stream. Several lower-speed circuits operating in parallel could then implement counter 240 and parts of data processor 250.
Delay circuit 130 preferably provides precisely controlled delays to permit phase adjustments in signal DT that may have a frequency greater than 1 GHz.
Data processor 250 performs analysis processes that are described further below. In alternative embodiments of the invention, data processor 250 can be implemented in dedicated hardware, firmware executed in a microcontroller, and/or software executed in a computer or other external system.
System 200 of
In an exemplary embodiment, the count in counter 240 of system 200 is proportional to the rate (sometimes referred to herein as the zero-rate) of occurrences of signal DT being below threshold level VT at the selected phase Φ of signal DT. System 200 can determine comparable zero-rates for other threshold levels and phases by setting the desired parameters VT and Φ and counting zeros for a fixed time. Alternatively, the zero-rate is equal to the ratio of the count from counter 240 and a matching count of the total number of bits. A similar one-rate is proportional to a count of the number of samples above threshold level VT, and the sum of the one-rate and the zero-rate should be equal to the bit rate or frequency of signal DT. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, analog characteristics of a signal can be extracted from zero-rates or one-rates found by binary sampling of the signal using a ranges of phases and thresholds. The following describes examples of using the zero-rates in binary sampling to determine analog characteristics of a signal, but one-rates could be used in a similar manner.
The selected phase for plot 400 is close to transitions between consecutive bits. In particular, at the selected phase, the average voltage when the signal is rising is voltage VRAVE, and the average voltage when the signal is falling is voltage VFAVE. Plot 400 illustrates the case when the selected phase is early in the rise or fall so that the average rising voltage VRAVE is less than the average falling voltage VFAVE.
As the threshold VT approaches the average rising voltage VRAVE, the zero-rate increases as more of the cases of voltage rise become less than threshold level VT. A second plateau rate 420 occurs when nearly all samples of the rising voltage at the selected phase are less than the threshold level VT. This plateau rate would correspond to about 50% for a signal representing a binary series in which the probability of value zero is 50%, but plateau rate 420 may not correspond to 50% for a signal having different statistical properties.
Similarly, as the threshold level VT approaches the average falling voltage VFAVE, the zero-rate increases as more of the cases of voltage fall become less than threshold level VT. A third plateau rate 430 occurs when nearly all samples of the falling voltage at the selected phase are less than the threshold level VT. This plateau rate 430 would be about 75% for a signal representing a binary series in which the probability to remain at the same level is equal to the probability to transition to the other level, but plateau rate 430 may differ if the signal has different statistical properties.
The zero-rate rises again when the threshold level VT exceeds the minimum voltage V1MIN representing binary value 1. A final plateau rate 440 of 100% occurs when the threshold level VT is greater than the maximum voltage V1MAX of signal DT.
Varying the selected phase and repeating the measurements of the rates for each of a series of threshold levels VT provides the zero-rate as a function of a two-dimensional domain.
Processing of the data represented in
The measurement results illustrated in
An advantage of using zero-rates or one-rates for signal analysis is the ability to determine voltages Vtop and Vbase, which represent the average voltages of respective binary values one and zero. Oscilloscopes commonly provide built-in measurements of voltages Vtop and Vbase, but such measurements may be impractical when using BER testers due to the synchronization requirements between the sampled signal and the known pattern. Using zero-counting or one-counting, voltages Vtop and Vbase can be measured by choosing a sampling phase at the eye center of traces 610 and locating the threshold level VT giving 75% and 25% zero-rate, respectively. It should be noted that the analysis that determines voltages Vtop and Vbase does not require determination of a derivative or the trace density.
The 20%-80% rising edge duration can be determined using voltages Vtop and Vbase that are determined as described above. A process for determining the 20%-80% rising edge duration, for example, can initially set threshold level VT to 0.8*Vbase+0.2*Vtop, and then search for a phase Φ to the right of the eye center that gives a zero-rate equal to ½ of the plateau rate 410. Subtracting the bit period from this phase Φ provides the initial instant tr1 of the rising edge. The process can then set threshold level VT to 0.2*Vbase+0.8*Vtop and search for a phase Φ to the left of eye center that achieves a zero-rate equal to the average of plateau rate 430 and plateau rate 440. This identifies the final instant tr2 of the rising edge. The rising edge duration is the difference tr2−tr1. Other VT values might be used, for example to find the 10%-90% rising edge duration. It is also straightforward to modify the described process to find similar falling edge durations. The method of searching for the correct zero-rate could be by any of several well-known search algorithms. The use of search algorithms, and direct analysis of the zero-rate without calculating derivatives, reduces the number of combinations of phase Φ and threshold level VT that must be sampled to reach the desired measurement result.
Another measurable analog signal characteristic is overshoot or undershoot. Overshoot and undershoot are signal parameters that indicate the amount of ringing present in a waveform. Because ringing phenomena are characterized by waveform behavior outside the central eye area, measurement overshoot and undershoot by BER techniques may not be practical, but zero or one counting techniques can measure these parameters. For example, to measure overshoot, the system can measure Vtop at various phases Φ. The number of different phases measured can be selected according to the bandwidth of the signal DT. The maximum Vtop, divided by Vtop at the center phase, is the overshoot.
Mask testing is a further use of both oscilloscopes and BER testers. Mask testing requires detection of signal traces passing through forbidden regions of the eye. BER testers generally are able to test only masks within the central eye region. The masks specified for important communications standards such as Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel also specify mask regions above and below the eye. Testing against these masks is commonly done with an oscilloscope. However, zero or one counting allows testing mask regions inside and outside the central eye area using low cost binary sampling circuits. A system having a zero or one-counter can test above or below the central eye simply by setting parameters VT and Φ to correspond to points in the mask region above (or below) the eye, and count occurrences of ones (or zeroes), which indicate mask failures.
Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, the description is only an example of the invention's application and should not be taken as a limitation. For example, although the above-described embodiments have concentrated on analysis of binary data signals, similar techniques and circuit can analyze other signals such as clock signal, a return-to-zero encoded data signal, or a multilevel-encoded data signal. Various other adaptations and combinations of features of the embodiments disclosed are within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
Claims
1. A test system comprising:
- an analog comparator connected to compare an input signal to an adjustable threshold level;
- a binary sampler connected to sample an output signal from the analog comparator, wherein the binary sampler has an adjustable phase that determines a phase of the signal that is sampled; and
- a counter connected to count samples from the binary sampler that have a selected binary state.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a processing system connected to analyze a set of count values from the counter to determine an analog characteristic of the input signal.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the processing system determines an average voltage representing a binary value by identifying a level of the adjustable threshold that provides a count representing a target rate of occurrence of the selected binary state.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the processing system analyzes a set of measured counts corresponding to a range of adjustable threshold level and a range of the adjustable phase to generate a representation of time dependence of an analog voltage of the input signal.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the input signal is a binary signal, and the representation comprises an eye pattern indicating rising and falling edges of the input signal.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the processing system determines a derivative of the measured counts.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the input signal has a pattern that is unknown in the test system.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the input signal represents a series of binary values having a pattern that is unknown in the test system.
9. A method for determining analog properties of a signal, comprising:
- varying a threshold over a first range;
- varying a phase over a second range;
- for each value of the threshold and the phase, determining a rate at which the signal has a voltage above the threshold when sampled at the phase; and
- analyzing the rates to determine an analog characteristic of the signal.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein analyzing the rates comprises determining an average voltage representing a binary value of the signal by identifying a level of the threshold that provides a target rate of occurrences of the voltage being above the threshold when sampled.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein analyzing the rates comprises generating a representation of time dependence of an analog voltage of the signal.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the signal is a binary signal, and the representation comprises an eye pattern indicating rising and falling edges of the input signal.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein analyzing the rates comprises determining a derivative of the rates with respect to the adjustable threshold.
14. A method for analyzing a signal, comprising:
- sampling the signal with a binary sampler having an adjustable phase for sampling and an adjustable threshold, wherein the adjustable threshold separates levels of the signal corresponding to different binary states of samples output from the binary sampler;
- determining rates of a selected one of the binary states in the samples output from the binary sampler, each of the rates being determined for a unique combination of values of the adjustable threshold and the adjustable phase; and
- analyzing the rates to determine an analog characteristic of the signal.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein analyzing the rates comprises determining an average voltage representing a binary value of the signal by identifying a level of the adjustable threshold that provides a target rate of occurrences of the selected binary state.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein analyzing the rates comprises generating a representation of time dependence of an analog voltage of the signal.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the signal is a binary signal, and the representation comprises an eye pattern indicating rising and falling edges of the input signal.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein analyzing the rates comprises determining a derivative of the rates with respect to the adjustable threshold.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 23, 2004
Publication Date: Jan 26, 2006
Inventor: Matthew Bruensteiner (San Jose, CA)
Application Number: 10/897,539
International Classification: G01R 27/28 (20060101);